The Hacker
by Maggie Valley
Summary: The team is threatened by a 17 year old hacker who ends up getting in more trouble than he thought he could.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

**Sea Cliff 4 am **

Maddox Morgan sat at his computer, rapidly typing code into it. He had a fine set up worthy of many small tech companies. He had all the bells and whistles, multiple machines, 3 D printer, scanner, and software. It was sometimes good to be the only child of a single parent tech company executive. He got all the new toys as soon as his dad's employees did. It was his father's way of showing love. Many of the parents in San Francisco's most exclusive neighborhood did that.

Maddox was a thin pale kid who had earned the nickname "the Vampire", from fellow senior students at Berkeley Prep. He hated his name, Maddox, almost as much as he hated daytime hours. His mother, now long since divorced, had given him that name in honor of some dead relative, but he found only one good thing about it, it made for an awesome hacker name, Mad Max.

Mad Max was angry, very angry. Yesterday he'd been tooling around in his dad's sweet BMW X6 convertible. He wasn't doing anything wrong, but he'd been stopped by a cop. He'd gotten a ticket. So what if he'd been doing donuts in the mall parking lot. Hadn't the cop ever been a kid? The whole point of doing donuts was to impress your peeps and throw fear into those who felt their cars were in danger. His father had taken the keys from him and grounded him for three weeks. Max knew his dad was stupid. He'd basically done the best thing in Maddox's view; he'd restricted him to his room. Mad Max had a badge number, 7942. He wanted to teach Officer 7942 a lesson, one that wouldn't be forgotten soon. For all its vaunted protection, Mad Max easily breached the San Francisco Police Department computer easily finding who Officer 7942 was, where he lived, all that so called secure personal information. The Officer would be screwed by the time Max had to go to school. So much for vaunted public safety firewalls.

"Whoa" Max breathed when he saw the address. The guy lived in Police Headquarters? He dug deeper, his eyes widening when he found out who Officer 7942 was assigned to. He decided not to do the usual hack of the Officer's bank and credit, but instead he'd teach the department a lesson, starting with Officer Mark Sanger and his boss, Robert T. Ironside. Max smiled. This would be fun. He downloaded several viruses into the entire SFPD system that he knew would keep their tech boys busy for a time then very carefully started on the computers of Robert Ironside.

**Chapter 1**

8:30am Ironside's Office

Eve Whitfield stared at her computer screen. She'd been doing it for a couple of hours, but it felt like days. Groaning at her failure to find the information she wanted, she bowed her head slightly, first rubbing tired eyes, then running her fingers through her short blonde hair, cradling her head by spreading her fingers at her temples.

"C'mon you stupid machine, find me that document." The computer was nonplussed.

Eve got up and walked into the small kitchen of her office. Stretching slightly, she poured a cup of coffee and drank it, staring at the laptop on the round oak table. She knew the Chief would be disappointed if she couldn't provide him with the document he wanted and he'd certainly let her know about that. She heard the door open, felt her stomach flip. Time to get it over with; she was expecting the worst from the Chief.

"Morning! You're here early," Ed Brown offered as a greeting. He joined her at the coffee maker accepting the mug she gave him. He took a sip waiting for Eve to fill in the blanks.

"It's the document that won't show itself, no matter what I do." She said.

"What one? The one you were working on yesterday, the Maroni case? That one?"

"Yes. Every case note we've made…gone".

Brown went over to the computer, sat down and typed in commands. "Weird. Did you try the other laptops? We're networked, right?"

"Not yet and yes, we are." Eve said.

Ed got up and went over to a sideboard. Opening it, he took out two identical laptops. Handing one to Eve, they turned them on and began searching for the missing file.

"Nothing. It's like we never did anything," Ed said. "What do you have?"

"Ditto." Eve replied, pausing. "Ed, if the Maroni file is gone, what about our other cases?"

"Better get someone from IT up here, because this not going to make for a good start to the day."

"What isn't Sergeant?" Ironside demanded, coming out of his bedroom.

The two stiffened.

"I asked you a question Sergeant. Do you want to tell me the answer?"

Quickly Ed explained what had happened with Eve filling in details from her failed attempts to find the case notes earlier.

"It must be a virus Chief. I'll get IT up here as soon as possible." Eve said.

"Do it quickly, but just in case we're compromised, I want everything committed to paper. We need a backup."

Ironside rolled over to the coffeepot and poured himself a mug. Ed Brown had been right, he mused as he drank. It was a bad start to the day and unknowing to all, it was about to get a lot worse.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Rezko Lenard's Apartment, San Francisco, 9:15 am

Rezko Lenard drank his tea very slowly as he looked at his computer screen. He'd been looking forward to a relatively quiet day of report reading and maybe a trip to the Apple Store to get one of those new Ipad Airs, so he had gone online to check his balance at the Usata Bank and there had been something that just didn't jibe. His account was significantly lower than it should have been and he'd just been paid by his employer. Now he would have to go to the bank and find out which incompetent dolt of a data processor had inputed the wrong information into his account. He printed off the account information and found his last paycheck stub. Lenard worked in the Cultural Affairs Office of the Romanian Consulate, but actually, his employer was the _Serviciul Român de Informitații_, or SRI. In English, it translated as the Romanian Secret Service.

Lenard had been born under the repressive regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, in the town of Timişoara, near the Serbian border. At the age of 10 Rezko saw his father gunned down a week before Christmas by Ceausescu's internal security forces when he and others in Timişoara protested Ceausescu's actions that had caused the ruination of the country. On Christmas Day, he and his mother and sister rode in a friend's truck for seven hours to Bucharest, fighting for space in a crowded courtroom to see the trial of the dictator and his wife Elena on charges of genocide and economic sabotage. Two hours later, the couple was dead, executed for their crimes. Life had been quiet for the boy until he was a student at the University of Bucharest. Lenard, an outstanding computer science student, had been approached by the SRI to join the struggle to keep the Motherland secure. Rezko saw it as his chance to leave a life of poverty and no advancement, took it, and never looked back.

He had earned his promotion to the Los Angeles Consulate based on the skillful completion of his previous assignments. He had persuaded the Consul-General to allow him to live in San Francisco, in order to keep an eye on the growing technology industry of nearby Silicon Valley and the two large universities, University of California at San Francisco and Berkeley. After making a phone call to his masters in Bucharest, the Consul General, a timid man, caught up in the glamor of Hollywood, thought this an excellent way to get this agent ,who was more interested in Steve Jobs ,than in Brad Pitt, out of his hair, and eagerly sent Lenard north to San Francisco.

At thirty-five, Lenard spoke nine languages accent free and a box secreted in the wall of his small bedroom closet held twelve different passports and supporting documents: birth certificates, bank books, identity cards, credit cards, driving licenses, family pictures, wedding rings, marriage licenses and divorce decrees, one for each identity. Ironically enough, his code name was Apostle. He'd been other people for so long he'd almost forgotten who he really was, Sergiu Ardelean. Looking one last time at his account, he decided it would be best to have all the information he needed. Carefully he signed into a chat room popular with hackers. A sort of online coffee shop as it were with a large community bulletin board. He'd find out soon enough if someone had hacked the Usata Bank recently. He scrolled through topics. There it was. Someone had posted about a hacker named Mad Max. Max specialized in financial institutions and small technology companies, and was a prolific developer of Trojans, viruses and spyware. The poster didn't say Max had attacked the Usata Bank, but he had been successful at the Landingham Trust two months ago. It had been kept quiet because what bank would want to lose the trust of their elite clientele by looking bad in the papers and more importantly, the social media that fueled San Francisco gossip scene.

There were two ways Lenard could address this. One would be to launch a counterattack and restore his account, but his would be the only one repaired and would create suspicion. Better to go into the bank and complain like any American citizen would about the error. He would tell the manager he needed the funds for the Art and Wine auction tomorrow night. That was true, he was expected to be there as a patron of the event. The funds would be replaced quickly because the bank was obviously keeping the cyber attack under wraps. Then he would spend the afternoon and evening rebuilding his computer system so he could keep an eye on this Mad Max. Chances were good they were looking at the same things and he wanted to be ready when he finally met this Mad Max. Perhaps he might be able to recruit him if the price was right. He found himself intrigued by the possibility.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ironside's Office 11:30 am

"Morning" Fran Belding called out as she entered the room.

"And what do we owe the honor of a visit from SFPD's Homeland Security Division this morning?" the Chief called out.

"That I've missed you?" Fran gave the Chief a hug and then went over and poured a cup of coffee for herself. She gestured with the pot. Ironside shook his head no. Ed waved his mug in her direction. Grinning, she walked over and filled it.

"Like old times", she said, sitting down after replacing the pot, carefully crossing her legs so that her skirt wouldn't wrinkle.

"You miss the coffee that much?" Mark asked.

"I keep telling you Mark, it's the company more than anything else." Fran replied.

"I've played poker with you before," the Chief said, "and I know you want something. Spit it out Lieutenant Belding."

"I see you're not on your computers, so I think you know what happened."

"Someone hacked our files last night or early this morning." Eve said angrily. "They got all our case notes."

"The entire SFPD was hacked either last night or early this morning." Fran said. "They broke through the firewalls and have looked at possibly everything."

Ironside looked at his former assistant. "That explains why you're here. More than one investigation has been compromised,"

"In part."

"Well, who do you need?"

"Eve" Fran replied.

Eve looked at her. "What do you mean you need me? I'm not a hacker. I barely understand computers enough to turn it on and type a report."

"You've probably got a heck of a story to want Eve to work for Homeland Security." Ed said

"I do. It goes like this. The entire SFPD system got hacked last night. Whoever did it has access to a great deal of information about us and our cases. Homeland Security got spared because we're a different system. The Feds provide our technology and storage." Fran opened a manila file taking out a picture of a man with dark hair swept back from a widow's peak hairline and a definite Slavic look to him.

"This is Rezko Lenard. He's an art collector and wine aficionado, and is listed as the science and culture attaché for the Romanian Government."

Eve looked closely at the picture. "Good looking guy."

"Actually, this is what he really does for a living". Fran slid a sheet of paper out of the folder onto the round oak table.

Mark picked it up and read it aloud. "Works for SRI, which is?"

"The Romanian Secret Service", the Chief finished. "Fran, how did you find this out?"

"I've been undercover for the past four months Chief, working in an art gallery on Market that Mr. Lenard frequents. He has a drop box there. FBI's been strapped doing surveillance since nine eleven so that's a reason why local departments are getting more involved. We know the turf better than they do and the money they give us doesn't hurt either. Lenard's main job has been money laundering which he does mainly through art sales at the gallery The Fed's want to bust the guy at the gallery, but I found out that Rezko has some bank accounts that aren't connected with the Romanian government and are funded by Lenard's computer background. I think he's selling malware, spyware, viruses and Trojans to the highest bidder for their own little sordid purposes. I think he likes it here and doesn't have plans to return to dear old Bucharest when he's done with his tour of duty.

"Graduated top of his class in computer science at the University of Bucharest" Ed mused, looking at Eve.

He's very, very good at hacking." Fran continued. "It's possible that he's responsible for the recent spate of cyber- attacks at several boutique banks in the city in the past months. With this morning's attack, Commissioner Randall wants to make sure that he is our man and if he isn't, maybe he'll lead us to the actual hacker." Two months ago, we were able to plant a bug in his apartment. The information we've gotten has been useful. Department of Homeland Security was ready to step in and take it over, but with this, well, Chief Hernandez feels this is personal and needs to be in house. We need to step up the pressure, which means I need to step out of the relationship I've developed with Rezko ,and that's where Eve comes in."

"How personal was this relationship?"

"You still care about who I go out with, don't you Chief? You're sweet. It was personal, but not _that_ kind of personal."

"What kind of danger would Eve be in?"

"He doesn't have a reputation for violence, but I suspect he's got the training."

"Who would her handler be?" asked Ed.

"Me, but it would be nice if…"Fran's voice trailed off.

"Who else do you want Fran?" Ironside demanded.

"Mark. Ed. You."

"You got a plan to bag this dude?"Mark said, smiling broadly.

"Uh huh, but I need you to help me refine it, keep Eve outta trouble and pull it off."

"Why can't you use your own team Fran?"

"We may have a secure computer system, but someone in the department is telling tales out of work. That's one reason why I have to find someone different to step in before my cover is blown, because eventually, it will be. And I've worked too hard to get close to Rezko to blow it because of some damn asshole looking for a payday. " She shook her head angrily.

The Chief looked at his team. "Ok, so you think we can help you find this mole, and the hacker and stop a money laundering operation all at the same time?"

"I've got a bottle of Woodford Reserve Bourbon riding on it."

"No, I want that and more."

"Not that Chief. Anything but that…"

"I want your dad's recipe for poker night chili".

Fran paused a moment. "Ok, it's yours."

And I want that bottle of bourbon, regardless." Ironside smiled broadly sensing the victory he'd achieved.

"Done." She pulled a large bottle out of her huge purse and set it on the table. "Consider this a down payment." Fran laughed. "You get the chili recipe when this is done."

"You taught her well Chief" Eve grinned. "So Fran, tell me why this gentleman will prefer blondes.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sea Bluff 1:30 AM

The day had been one ginormous pain, Maddox Morgan thought sourly. Everyone around him was getting their undies all in a twist over final exams, then there were those who were uptight over the two week binge testing better known as Advanced Placement exams. It was a whole year of busting ass in a class to get college credit decided by one exam. He could understand the latter. He'd seen strong people reduced to tears because they didn't get their 5's on an exam. He'd thought about hacking into the giant database the College Board used to collect test scores, but, he decided against it. He'd done well enough on the SAT. That along with his dad's sizeable donation to UC Berkley's Computer Science Department, resulting in the naming of a computer lab for his grandfather, guaranteed him a coveted slot in Berkeley's elite freshman class this fall. Just two more exams to go before graduating.

"Oh well, life's a bitch and then you die." He thought as he opened his laptop. He saw the mail icon glowing. Doubleclicking on it he opened it.

"What the hell" he swore loudly as he read.

**_"_****_Mad Max_**

**_You are the person who removed $45,000.00 from my bank account at the Usata Bank, the other night. I suspect you are also responsible for several other recent attacks on Bay Area computers, including the one early this morning on the computers of the San Francisco Police Department. I am in need of someone with your assets. Consider the $45,000 a down payment. Decline this offer and I will make certain your father will be charged under the Patriot Act for crimes against the United States Government __BY TOMORROW AT 3 PM. I do want you to do well on your physics and computer exams._**

**_You will receive instructions shortly about meeting my messenger. Attempting to trace this message back to the source will result in the release of a major malware and virus attack that will be traced back to your computers and to those belonging to your father._**

**_Go to the police and you will be visiting your father in federal prison._**

**_Be seeing you._**

**_Apostle"_**

The message glowed, flickered for an instant and disappeared. Max stared into the screen stunned. How did this stranger know these things about him? He'd been careful about releasing the malware. He hadn't bragged about anything like some hackers did. Shit, he hadn't even posted on the community brag board he frequented. This guy, "Apostle", had to be a hacker, and a really good one to have sent an encrypted message like that one to him, as well as the speed that he found out. Max could backtrack into the Usata bank and find out specifically who he'd taken the money from, maybe even offer to replace it. But send his Dad to jail under the Patriot Act? Max had problems with his dad from time to time, any kid his age did, but not enough to send him to jail for the rest of his life. Dad was all he had in life. How would he handle it if he lost him? What the frack was he going to do? If he went to the police, they'd find out that he was the one that launched the attack this morning and he'd get busted for that. Bye Bye, Berkeley and his dreams of being a software designer. He paused. There was one way he could get word to the police. But he needed the assistance of Officer 7942 to pull that off. He ran a spybot malware scan before opening a program and typing into it.


End file.
